Why Falcons gave Gervon Dexter Sr. big-money contract: ‘I won’t let them down’

FLOWERY BRANCH — Gervon Dexter Sr.’s phone rang with news: his 4-year-old son was ready to be picked up from school. Moments later, his phone rang with news again: the Falcons were giving him generational wealth.

The latter made the drive for the former all the merrier.

“Great drive, man,” Dexter said Thursday afternoon. “I told my son in the car that I was getting an extension here. To him, all he heard was he gets more toys.”

Dexter certainly has no shortage of means to provide them.

The Falcons gave him a four-year contract extension worth up to $78 million and with $46.5 million guaranteed, agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. With an average annual value of $19.5 million, Dexter is the NFL’s 21st-highest-paid interior defensive lineman, according to OverTheCap.

After the two sides agreed to the deal, Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski approached Dexter, who said he “didn’t have a clue” talks were close, with a brief message of support.

“I told him it’s well deserved,” Stefanski said Thursday. “He earned it.”

Dexter has been one of the NFL’s best pass rushers through the season’s first three games. He has 15 quarterback pressures, which ranks 11th in the league, per Next Gen Stats. He’s recorded three quarterback hits and owns a 20.5% pass rush win rate, eighth-best among those with at least 50 snaps.

Stefanski thinks sacks can be liars, and Dexter, who only has a half-sack thus far, is a strong example. He’s been disruptive, and he has history on his side. Falcons general manager Ian Cunningham helped draft Dexter in 2023 with the Chicago Bears, watched the former Florida standout tally 11 sacks over the past two years and then traded for him Aug. 30.

So, while Dexter’s sample size in Atlanta is small, the Falcons feel there’s ample evidence spanning several seasons to support their investment in the 6-foot-6, 326-pounder.

“Ian being in Chicago and knowing the person is important here,” Stefanski said. “So, while the first impression with us has been great, it’s also, you have to realize we’ve watched all of his tape and we studied him as he was coming out. So, he’s more of a known quantity in that regard.

“But, yeah, I think very highly of the player. I think very highly of the person.”

The Falcons are also fond of Dexter’s upside. Stefanski said the organization prioritizes player development, and the 24-year-old Dexter is still ascending.

“We do believe there’s a lot more in there,” Stefanski said.

Dexter trusts the Falcons will help him unlock his full potential. He trusts Cunningham. And he likes the chance to spearhead a promising new era on Atlanta’s defensive line.

Brandon Dorlus is 25 years old, Maason Smith only 23. Toss in Dexter, and the young trio has 32 combined quarterback pressures in three games this season. Dexter hasn’t yet played alongside 22-year-old outside linebackers Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr., but they’re significant parts of the team’s pass-rushing future, too.

And while Dexter stayed hands-off during the negotiation process, he valued the chance to stay in Atlanta, where he believes his position group has significant upside.

“The biggest thing for me that I liked was the group of guys that we had in the room,” Dexter said. “We’ve got a younger group, especially in the interior, so just to grow those guys and be able to help them and them help me, it was a part.”

Dorlus marveled at how quickly Dexter adapted from the Bears’ read-and-attack defensive front to the Falcons’ attack-style look. Dorlus knew Dexter was a “great addition” when the Falcons acquired him for cornerback Clark Phillips III and a 2027 fifth-round pick two weeks before the season, but Dexter’s dominance has curved all expectations.

The Lake Wales, Florida, native has been “dominant,” Dorlus said, and he’s proven a quality embodiment of the Falcons’ good, young, ascending defensive line.

“I feel like we merge really well together,” Dorlus said Thursday. “We’ve got great chemistry out there. It’s going to be fun.”

Dexter’s phone lit up with celebratory text messages from old teammates, including former Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, who played with Dexter last year in Chicago. Jarrett told Dexter his work paid off.

Falcons teammates celebrated Dexter in the locker room Thursday, and their support — coupled with Cunningham’s steadfast belief — has proven pivotal to Dexter’s early acclimation and subsequent on-field stardom. It’s also central to the reason he believes his Falcons tenure will remain fruitful moving forward.

“You play a lot faster when you got guys who believe in you,” Dexter said. “You play harder for guys that trust you, and same with teammates. You want to do your part. You don’t want to let those type of people down who trust you and always believe in you. So, I don’t want to let those guys down and I won’t let them down.”

Dexter’s biggest motivation — above the price tag and the undeniable upside of the Falcons’ defensive line — is his family. He looks at his wife, Bri’Anna, his son, Gervon Jr., and his daughter, Brooklyn, and he sees how far he’s come.

Before becoming a father in May of 2022, Dexter admits he was selfish. Then, his life changed. His personality did, too. He formed better habits and became a better person. He charted a new trajectory, one that culminated in Bri’Anna, Gervon Jr. and Brooklyn joining him at a table in the Falcons’ headquarters when he signed his new contract.

“I think that’s why I am who I am today,” Dexter said. “You see them being born and you see the stuff my wife went through with them being born, you become selfless. I used to think, like, it’s for me, for me, for me. And now, it’s like, for them, for them.”

Perhaps that’s why Dexter is such a strong fit in the Falcons’ defense, where coordinator Jeff Ulbrich preaches the concept of four players rushing as one. It requires selflessness and sacrifice across the board, sometimes requiring one player to do the dirty work so another teammate can get to the quarterback.

Dexter has bought in. Before parenthood, he’s not sure he would’ve been.

“Growing up, playing football, you want sacks, you want sacks,” Dexter said. “Now it’s like, ‘How can I help this guy get a sack? How can I do this for the team?’ So, that’s probably the main reason why I am the way I am now.”